"If I'm a fan, I would love that. I think it is incredibly intense. It's wild. It's crazy." From Wonder Boy to NASCAR sage, Jeff Gordon has summed up well the manic mechanical madness that is NASCAR racing at Talladega Superspeedway. The drivers hate it, the writers almost self-righteously opine that no sane race fan should enjoy it, but nothing generates more shock and awe for the American sporting public than than the frantic finishes at NASCAR’s largest track. For ...

If you talk to some uppity sports fans, they think a typical NASCAR fan’s Sunday follows a predictable routine. They stagger out of bed with a pounding head sometime around 9 a.m. and throw on a pair of shorts that should have been thrown out five years ago, and their cleanest dirty sleeveless flannel shirt. After a pot of coffee as thick as roofing tar and a breakfast of Jimmy Dean sausage, eggs over easy and biscuits ‘n’ gravy, they hop in the ‘72 Ford pick- ...

The closing laps at Sonoma were dual between predator and prey, the wily lion pursuing the swift gazelle the defending race winner versus the rising upstart. Kurt Busch bore down on Clint Bowyer Sunday locked and loaded, ready to pounce. All Busch needed from Kansas Clint was one little slip, one little wiggle. Just when Bowyer seemed to pull away on the straights, Kurt would catch, on some laps with a perfect opportunity to punt Bowyer on the tight right at Turn 11. Who would blink? ...

The closing laps at Sonoma were dual between predator and prey, the wily lion pursuing the swift gazelle the defending race winner versus the rising upstart. Kurt Busch bore down on Clint Bowyer Sunday locked and loaded, ready to pounce. All Busch needed from Kansas Clint was one little slip, one little wiggle. Just when Bowyer seemed to pull away on the straights, Kurt would catch, on some laps with a perfect opportunity to punt Bowyer on the tight right at Turn 11. Who would blink? ...

Domination. It is in part defined as the exercise of control or power. Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus and the 48 displayed a powerful visual demonstration of domination Sunday at Dover, with the five-time champion picking up his 57th career win, leading 289 out of 400 laps, sailing away on every restart. In the annals of NASCAR history, others have dominated, whether it be Buck Baker, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt or Jeff Gordon. While legendary, no one quite sustained a run like the one Joh ...